THE Cheshire Wildlife Trust has joined with other conservation groups to call on people to remember their garden wildlife during the current record-breaking wintry weather.

One of the most surprising and overlooked lifesavers for wildlife can be fresh water – an easy to forget aspect of helping many creatures when we are surrounded by snow.

Tom Marshall from the Cheshire Wildlife Trust said: “With the deep freeze we are currently experiencing, all but the biggest lakes and fast-flowing rivers will become impenetrable ice-rinks and this can be a real problem for many of our garden birds.

“Putting out food and providing water during the next few weeks may not only mean the difference between life-and-death for some species, but you may also be rewarded with some new feathered friends in the backyard.”

The Cheshire Wildlife Trust is recommending the following top tips:

Provide warm fresh water daily in a shallow dish, but never use anti-freeze or other chemicals to stop it freezing.

Sunflower seeds, peanuts (unsalted) and nyjer seed are ideal for finches, tits and sparrows.

Apples can attract blackbirds and winter thrushes such as fieldfares and redwings.

Fat balls and ‘bird-cake’ are ideal for summer insect-eaters such as blackcaps, goldcrests and great spotted woodpeckers.

Grated cheese, porridge oats and pastry are ideal kitchen leftovers, but avoid dry bread wherever possible.

Winter is a great time to put up a nestbox, not only in readiness for spring but to provide an overnight refuge for some of our smallest birds.